Former NFL player Henry Ruggs was sentenced to at least three years in prison for a DUI crash that killed a woman and her dog, AP News reported on Wednesday.
Ruggs, 24, was found to be intoxicated while driving his sports car at 156 mph on a city street before causing a fiery crash in Nevada that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog in Nov. 2021, per a report from the AP at the time.
The former Las Vegas Raiders receiver pleaded guilty in May to one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, and had been under house arrest with alcohol and location electronic monitoring devices ahead of the sentencing.
In a statement obtained by NBC, Ruggs’ attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said, “Mr. Ruggs has accepted responsibility for his actions, entered a guilty plea, and now been sentenced by the court. In court today Mr. Ruggs expressed his sincere sadness for the loss of Ms. Tintor and the impact that it has had on her loved ones.”
Ex-Raider Henry Ruggs Pleads Guilty to Driving Drunk in High-Speed Crash That Killed Woman: Report
The former Raider read a statement to the victim’s parents at his sentencing, seen in a video shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), in which he “sincerely” apologized for the “pain and suffering” his actions have caused their family.
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“I also let my family, teammates, and those who believed in me down by my actions. It hurt so many,” Ruggs said, adding that he’s spent the past 21 months looking for “the answer to explain” his “selfish behavior,” but ultimately determined that he has “no excuse” for his actions.
Ruggs said he will “pray” that “accepting responsibility” and his pleading guilty will allow him to “begin the healing process” for himself and those affected by the fatal crash.
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Tintor’s cousin, Daniel Strbac, attended the sentencing for the family and read a statement on behalf of Tintor’s mother, Mirjana Komazec.
“We pray that this terrible accident inspires positive change in the world,” Strbac read for his late cousin. “From the bottom of hearts, we absolutely love and appreciate all members of our church, Raider Nation, the city of Las Vegas community and every individual who has shown up to remind us that we are not alone, and that Tina and Max are not alone.”
The Raiders cut Ruggs from the team the day after the crash.
According to Yahoo Sports, Ruggs could have been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison.
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The deadly collision occurred on Nov. 2, 2021, and Ruggs’ girlfriend Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, whom he shares a daughter with, was also in his vehicle at the time of the crash but did not cooperate as a victim, the Associated Press reported at the time.
The other charges against Ruggs — felony reckless driving and DUI causing substantial injury to Kilgo-Washington — were dismissed under the plea agreement, as well as a misdemeanor gun charge for possessing a loaded handgun in the vehicle which police discovered after the crash, according to the AP.
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